I watched silently as the wind carried itself across the tan fields of tall-grass. As a boy, I used to spend entire days playing in the fields. I would hide beneath their tops and carry myself off to different worlds. My imagination was always wild. I could dream up the most fantastic places ever to get away from the dull life of a farmhand. It was how I spent my childhood - my back to the wind with the sun bathing me.

Things weren't as bad as I told myself they were back then. I just longed to explore those worlds I created. So I would tell myself anything to justify running from home.

Far on the horizon I could just make out a speeder. On time as usual. During the passage from Coruscant, I began to doubt that Kraken would arrive at all. It had been long since we last met and I wasn't sure if I held the same respect in the Illuminatum's mind as I had when we first came together. Seeing that speeder was a welcome sight - his white robe washing out behind him.

The wind had changed directions and seemingly charioted the agent to me.

The speeder rocketed towards the solitary figure, and just as a collision seemed imminent the heap of metal swerved to the side, the figure flipping out of the seat in a dignified arc to land lightly before the Grand Master of the Illuminatum. His cloak pristine and unblemished by the sands, he stood a blinding apparition of purity in the sunlight. The change of the wind currents plastered the cloak to the back of Kraken, the fringes of the cowl rippling like the surface of a pond in a breeze. The trailing edges of his cloak wrapped around his legs, enveloping the Agent in a sea of white fluid motion, independent of anything but the laws of nature.

A moment of silence passed as the two figures, one clad in white and the other in black, regarded one another. A slight nod of the cowled head was all that registered as a greeting before the aqueous voice, altered by the modulated scrambler, resonated against the stone and durasteel of the outpost. "Admirable your choice of meeting places is, Grand Master. Rife, the city is, with the seets of greed and gluttony. Easy it was to procure my transport."

He was not altogether sure of Nubis' reaction to the news, whether he would discern the true depth of the meaning behind the wods, but in the same instant Agent Kraken found he did not care. Nubis had taken him on because of his propensity for independence, even if it did make him difficult to control.

Kraken was the model agent. A standard upon which all future agents could be measured to. He was quintessential to the mission and loyal, although independent. "It is good to see you, Agent Kraken. We haven't met for quite some time."

I stuck a knee to the ground and beckoned the agent to follow. My head, even lowered, couldn't be hidden by the grass. It was a cruel reminder of the time that had passed since my childhood. Even as I thought about it, the wind changed again, swirling through the reeds around us. It encompassed all.

Taking in the gesture, the agent fluidly lowered himself to a full lotus position on the ground. Even his boots were immaculate white and untouched by the dust of his passing, leaving the white of his clothes untouched by dirt. The cloak billowed behind him, swirling around the two figures a moment before the agent gathered it and set it aside. The medallion of Aquarius hung in sharp contrast to the tunic, the aqueous voice once again bubbling from the depths of the cowl.

"Let us talk indeed. Far and wide, my business has taken me since last we met, yet hold true to the ideals of the Illuminatum I do still. Confess, I do, that no knowledge of your intents have I. Curious, it is, this choice of meeting and timing..."

The head canted to the side, wind curling around the cowl and into its depths, to whistle across the input of the modulator. The electronics interpreted the sound as a soft lapping, like ripples of an ocean on a distant shore, the singular mix of elements combining in a symphony of sensory awareness. The earth below them, the air above them, the fire of devotion and cause, and the fluidity of the present and future mingling in a single place.

The power there was enough to make a passerby's hair stand on end. but the outpost had been abandoned, and there was nobody around to view the exchange for at least 10 kilometers around.

"I called you here because we're moving onto a new Illuminatum, Agent Kraken. Galactic events have called us both to places across the galaxy and back - never giving us time to heed our important mission. What we once were is no more."

The wind blew through my hair. Summers of past wafted into my memory with each breeze. Days by the lake. Camping in the mountains. Sitting by the fire."Agent Crassus has betrayed the Illuminatum, revealing the identity of other agents and possibly giving that information to non-Illuminatum. I don't need to remind you what the penalty is for betraying the Illuminatum."

My eyes studied the darkened hood. Even in the brightest of Dantooine afternoons, it seemed shadowed beyond comprehension. Kraken, both figuratively and literally, was a dark force.

Last edited by Nubis Serin on Fri, February 16th 2007 07:55pm; edited 1 time in total

The man had always shown such honor before. It was odd that the man would have chosen the path of betrayal, but reason no longer entered into it. Security was comprimised, and the leak needed to be sealed. And Kraken was the agent to do it. How would prove difficult, but not impossible. And it would be highly enjoyable.

"Crassus. Public, do you desire his end, or private and personal?"

A low, malicious chuckle flowed from the depths of the cowl, carrying with it the lethal intent of a seismic burst, carrying destructive energy through the waters of the future, focused upon the island of a man that Crassus was. And when the wave broke, nothing would be left to speak for him but a smudge on a distant map, and floating fauna.

Last edited by Illuminatum Agent on Fri, February 16th 2007 08:08pm; edited 1 time in total

"This is a matter for the Illuminatum. Although the galaxy could stand well to see what our agents are capable of, I believe things of this nature are better left in private. How and where is up to you, Agent Kraken. I have complete faith in your ability."

Standing, I gazed out at the grassy horizon. Being on Dantooine had completely blown all apprehension, angst, and uncertainty from my conscious. It felt good.

"You will be doing the Illuminatum a great service. I am pleased," I gestured to Kraken's speeder with the faintest hint of a smile. "Before we part, I have a trip arranged for the two of us, Agent Kraken. We will be heading to a place long forgotten when the Jedi archives were absorbed into the might of the Empire. Here on Dantooine, only kilometers from his very spot, are a network of caves said to contain a large source of Force crystals."

From my belt, I revealed the sabers that had been crafted by that very agent. Two intricate, though subtle hilts of great workmanship. "There are some crystals I seek in those caves. I'm sure you could benefit from the trip as well."

Last edited by Nubis Serin on Fri, February 16th 2007 08:13pm; edited 1 time in total

The lightsabers were a familiar sight, he had spent a great deal of time perfecting the design to fit the Grand Master's style. The designs had finally been settled upon after a day of quiet meditation, and he had a sensation of what Nubis wanted. Kraken took one of the sabers in his hand, igniting the weapon and watching the emerald green blade. A moment passed, the winds changing and swirling around them as the eddies in a tidal pool.

"Assume, do I, that new crystals you desire? An evolving mind, with modifications to suit?" A soft chuckle eminated from the depths of the cowl as the agent rose to his feet. Awaiting the Grand Master's following, Kraken moved to the speeder. Seemingly of its own accord the device sprang to life, making its way to the two.

The wind shifted and aided in righting me. Something about the whole meeting seemed different, yet I felt quite calm, serene almost. Each breeze comforted me further and with Kraken at my side, I felt as if I owned my existence for the first time.

"Head towards the foothills and we will find it."

Another shift in the wind brushed me towards the speeder. The thought had crossed my mind that the Force was somehow guiding me among the breezes. It seemed possible enough given how I seemed to sway and walk among the moving air. I felt peaceful among it.

Last edited by Nubis Serin on Fri, February 16th 2007 08:32pm; edited 1 time in total

A pause, while Nubis ascended to the speeder, then they rocketed towards the foothills. The white cloak billowed in the passing as Kraken spurred the engines higher than he had pushed them yet, the Force guiding the path of the speeder towards the caves. The wind at their backs helped the speeder move even faster, and Kraken felt the undercurrents of the Force eminating from Nubis. Curious.

Before long they had approached the mouth of the caves, where countless Jedi had trod before. Now, though, the caves were empty save for an elderly couple picnicing near the entrance. At the approach of the speeder, though, the wind buffeted them, and the skies began to darken. Fat drops of rain began to fall, and as Kraken and Serin walked into the yawning abyss the couple was driven off by the force resonating off the crystals, the twin elements of water and air combining to fend off prying eyes.